Back to School: Sustainable Living on Campus8.9.12

Excited for school? So are we! Even in you are not living in Farmhouse, there are many ways to be sustainable while living at Gettysburg College. Here are a few suggestions:

Buy only what you need for school. We tend to buy unnecessary things with the intention of eventually using it, but often times it just ends up unused and in the dumpster at the end of the semester (I speak from experience). When school shopping, check out consignment and thrift stores for things you may need. This will not only reduce your impact, but also reduce your impact on your wallet! For more info on "stuff" and how to reduce your impact, check out http://www.storyofstuff.org/.

DO bring a coffee mug, transportable coffee mug, and a water bottle with you. The coffee mugs are great for filling up at Bullet Hole and the Commons, and at the library at midnight! Use your water bottle instead of buying disposable ones. Refill it from your dorm sink, campus water fountains, Servo, or the Bullet Hole. You can buy a large nalgene bottle and travel mug at the College Bookstore.

Turn off your lights when you are not using them! This saves the school lots of energy! This includes desk and floor lamps. If you are not in the room, turn it off. I even turn out bathroom/classroom lights when I see that no one is in there . . ;-)

Unplug appliances when not in use. Laptop and phone chargers, lamps, etc. Even if your phone is not connected to the charger, or if your lamp is off, it is still using energy. It can be a pain, but it definitely helps reduce energy consumption!

There is honestly no need or excuse for an hour-long shower. Period. Reduce water consumption and waste.

While dining at Servo, go tray-less! Yes, the Servo conveyor belt for dirty dishes is not exactly suited for this, but you can always share a tray with friends. Also, take only food that you know you will eat. There will always be seconds that you can go back for (with the exception of Servo cookies .. get them before they run out!). This reduces food waste and helps you avoid the "freshman 15."

Eat less meat and more veggies. Vegetables have a lower carbon impact than meat. Servo has a great salad bar, vegetarian/vegan corner, fruit bar, and vegetarian entrees. For more information, check out this "Meat Eater's Guide".

Reduce paper waste! Print only what you need, and nothing more! Organize notes and articles in a PC desktop folder instead of a physical plastic binder. Always recycle papers that you no longer need. Each dorm room and most common rooms have recycling bins. Use them!

Need groceries? Eat locally! There are 3 Gettysburg farmer's market every week from spring through fall, which provide lots of fresh produce. Also, check out the Rose Garden health food store and Kennie's Market in town for more delicious local and organic food. The Rose Garden even has a Gettysburg College student discount (make sure you have your Student I.D. with you!).

Calculate your Carbon Footprint here! This will give you a better idea of your current personal impact, and how you can reduce it!

This is just a short list, but enough to get you started this semester. If you have any questions or need help getting involved, please contacts us at farmhouse@gettysburg.edu.

The Magic of Gardening!7.13.12

Gettysburg College Farmhouse alumnus Rachel Wynn is currently working for the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington D.C. In a blog post for the organization, she reflects on her experiences working in the Farmhouse organic garden:

"In college, I personally encountered the field to fork experience while living in a co-op style dorm, nicknamed the Farmhouse. There, I was asked to plant garlic. Despite repeated declarations of ignorance, I soon found myself thrusting cloves into the earth in neat rows. I felt a sense of pride; however, pride was overcome with a feeling of awe in the spring when I harvested the garlic and made a fresh meal. I had fostered the garlic from clove to bulb, and that feeling was unlike anything else I had ever experienced."

GIUFG20125.6.12

It's that time of year again-- not sure how you accumulated so much STUFF in your room? Don't need it? Don't want it? GIUFG it!

Starting this week, bins will appear in all dorms and around upperclass housing to collect items for the ninth Annual Give It Up For Good Sale, which gathers gently used items: clothing, furniture, appliances, books, etc, and puts them up for resale for the community. All proceeds going to the United Way of Adams County: last year's event raised over $18,000 and prevented over 33 tons of goods from entering the waste stream. Be good, be green, and GIUFG!

ALSO, do you have leftover frozen packages or canned goods in your cabinets and freezers? Donate to the Campus Kitchens! Drop it off at the Center for Public Service anytime M-F, 9-4pm.

Peddling Green5.8.12

Gettysburg has a new taxi service in town! It has zero emissions, and best of all, its free! Chris Lauer will be giving rides and tours around town this summer at no charge, although tips are, of course, always welcome. So instead of doing loops around Lincoln circle in your gas-guzzling car, now you can support a struggling artist and help clean up the atmosphere! To catch a ride to your next local destination, give him a call at 717.253.5413

Solar Energy Raising on Say. May 5th!4.23.12

Local Gettysburg Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (EES) Task Force will be holding a Solar Energy Raising on Saturday, May 5th, at 9 am! Community members and volunteers are need to help raise and install the solar hot water energy system for a local family; come learn more about community solar power and lend a helping hand. Lunch is potluck! For more info and directions, contact Peter Boving (boving@juno.com).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Come celebrate Earth Day!Friday, April 20th2-4pmBullet PatioEat cake, plant seeds, decorate tee-shirts, mix up some gummy worms and dirt pudding, listen to music and enjoy the great outdoors!

Hosted by the Women's Center~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peace for Emily <34.9.12

Mucking out the Goat Barn: A Haiku3.18.12by Sara Tower

goat muck and mirewheelbarrows running awayitchy heads, clean beds

Breaking News: SOLAR ON THE CENTER!!!3.5.12

The rumors are TRUE! Gettysburg College recently signed a contract with RGS Energy and Smart Energy Capital to lease roof space on the Athletic Center for the solar panels to Hudson Energy. The panels are expected to offset 25% of energy consumption for the entire athletic complex. Installation of the solar panels is slated to begin in early March. Gettysburg is finally taking its first bold step towards on-site renewable energy production! Hurrah!

Congratulations New Farmhousers 2012-20132.24.12

We are thrilled to announce the newest members of Farmhouse, a phenomenal group of students who will carry on the spirit of farmhouse while bringing in all their new energy and ideas! If you see any of our new residents around, be sure to congratulate them!!

Adams County Local Food Network POTLUCK2.22.12

Farmhouse is hosting the Adams County Local Food Network for their monthly potluck on Tuesday, March 6th at 6:30pm! All are invited, bring a dish to share if you can; food made with locally grown ingredients is always encouraged!

The Adams County Food Policy Council works in conjunction with the Adams County Local Foods Network to connect and educate the people of Adams County about the value of supporting a local, sustainable food system in order to increase accessibility to sustainably produced foods to our entire community. Click here to learn more about the Adams County Food Policy Council

Apply to Live in Farmhouse 2012-2013!2.1.12

It's time! We're beginning to recruit new members to live with us next year, and we're so excited to meet new people and see all of the exciting possibilities for the future of Farmhouse. If you're interested, we encourage you to come visit us, learn about the house, and consider applying to live with us next year!

It's Back: FOOD DISCUSSIONS1.21.12

We are thrilled to announce the return of our discussion series this semester on Food: what we eat, why we eat it, and why it matters. The group will meet once a week (or so) and collaboratively explore a variety of issues around food: agriculture, farming, social justice, ethics, and much more. To find out more or to join the discussion, email Sara (towesa01).

Meets Mondays at 8:30PM starting Feb. 6!

Bucknell Environmental Retreat1.10.12

On February 10-11, Bucknell University will host its first regional environmental conference for college and university students involved in campus sustainability initiatives. The ES Department will sponsor up to five students to attend the conference for free; if you're interested, contact Lauren Brauer at braula01!

Deadline to register is Friday, Jan. 29th!

Thanksgiving at the Farmhouse11.21.11

_Just look at those pictures... what
more is there to say? Who said college students can't cook! What a
wonderful day, with a meal that would blow you out of this world.
Special thanks to our vegan chefs for the array of beautiful, festive,
delicious, local, sustainable, and best of all, compassionate food. Its good to eat with friends!!

_"From food, all things are born. By food they live. Toward food they move. Into food, they return"-- Taittiriya Upanisad

Merry Moo-mas-ukkah!11.27.11

Keep Those Tar Sands In the SOIL, We Don't Want Yo Dirty OIL!11.7.11

THIS is what democracy looks like!So yesterday, 16 Gettysburg students drove down to Washington DC to participate in the largest environmental rally ever organized in the capitol city to protest the construction of the transcanada Keystone XL Pipeline! The goal was to gather enough participants to encircle the white house and send Obama a clear message that we stand against the KXL as a threat to the health of our environment and the consequences for our energy future.

Little did we know that over 10,000 people would come out for this protest; needless to say, we quite easily accomplished our goal, and after linking arms with our fellow protestors all the way around the White House we continued to snake through the streets of downtown DC with a giant inflatable pipeline. We picked up more support from the nearby Occupy DC Camp and our slogans and drums triumphantly filled the air. It was exhilarating to participate in such a momentous and important event... now, we wait to see what congress, and Obama, will do.

Learn more about the fragile Tar Sands up in Alberta, Canada and the impact that the Keystone Pipeline could have at TarSandsAction.org

This year we are thrilled to host a speaking event for the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation in Charlston, WV. This event will highlight the destructive practices of mountaintop removal mining on the environment, economy, and communities of West Virginia. Join us to learn about the true costs of coal and what steps are being taken to mitigate the worst impacts of this exploitative industry and move towards a brighter renewable energy economy. We may not all live in West Virginia, but here in PA at nearly half of our electricity is still produced by burning coal! We all have a stake in their struggle to save the mountains.

2011 GettysburgGREENWeek: Oct 30. - Nov 4!

_We're got a great lineup of events this year! Join us Oct. 30 - Nov. 4 for some good green gamut at Gettysburg. Events were planned and co-sponsored by GECO, Farmhouse, Painted Turtle, the ES Department, Center for Public Service, and GRAB. Enjoy!

Sunday October 30: Look out for us Trick-Or-Treating for water bottles in a few of the residence halls. We'll be displaying all of the water bottles on Stine Lake to show all of campus just how many water bottles accumulate in your rooms!

Monday October 31: Check out our CUB tables!

Tuesday November 1: Head to Servo for a Tray-less event to help cut down on the Dining Hall's water and food waste. At 7:30pm head to Mara Auditorium for GECO's film showing of Ferngully!

Wednesday November 2: Come listen to an awesome speaker even from the "Keepers of the Mountains" in CUB 260 at 7pm! Fight Mountain Top Removal!

Thursday November 3: Take advantage of free lunch in SCI 200 with a panel of students and staff working hard on campus sustainability. At 8PM take a trip over to the Attic for the Green Gameshow! Win a prize! Eat some snack! (Gameshow begins at 8:30pm)

Friday November 4: Join GECO to decorate free water bottles at 4pm at Farmhouse. Stay until 5:30 for a potluck dinner and screening of Fresh the Film!

EVERY day check out signs all over campus to help you become more sustainable in your daily life!

Come to the Painted Turtle Farm for WEED & FEED!!!10.19.11

Tired of hitting the books? Looking for something to dig your hands into? Join us this Friday, October 22 at 4PM out at the Painted Turtle Farm for WEED & FEED! Help us weed and do some clean-up around the garden, and then come back to farmhouse for some nice hot homemade (vegan) soup and freshly baked bread! Got parents with you this weekend? Bring them along!

Also, our next garden meeting will be out by the greenhouse on Tues, Oct. 25 at 4pm. Come hear what we're plotting (pun intended) and learn how to get involved!

Dickinson College: Seeding the Future Conference10.17.11

Last weekend, four member of Farmhouse and Painted Turtle spent two days up at Dickinson College's Seeding the Future Conference, meeting fabulous students and learning about the college farm revolution! The conference was organized around four tracks:1. Nuts and Bolts: Logistics of College Farm and Garden Operations (Practical Skills) 2. Teaching and Learning on the Farm and in the Garden (Education) 3. Sustainable Growth: Starting and Sustaining Programs on Campus (Growth/Start-up) 4. Breaking Bread, Building Markets: Connecting Community Partnerships (Community)

We each attended workshops and sessions on all of these topics, building our resource and knowledge base about everything from compost to curriculum development. We also camped out at the Dickinson College Farm, enjoying the beauty of the late-season fields and some good old campfire tunes. We definitely left inspired and eager to implement some of our great new ideas for Gettysburg!

Largest Campus Sustainability Conference in North America! AASHE Comes to Pittsburgh Oct. 9-1210.7.11

AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. Their mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. They do this by providing resources, professional development, and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research.

_AASHE's
annual three-day conference is the largest North American conference
focused on sustainability in higher education, expected to draw more
than 2,500 participants to Pittsburgh from all 50 states and more than
10 countries. AASHE has a reputation for providing the greatest campus
sustainability information exchange and in-depth experience within this
conference format. The
focus of the 2011 conference is creating sustainable campuses and
communities and will include community service projects for both
conference attendees and Student Summit participants.

This year, the ES400 Senior Seminar Class is attending the one-day Student Summit in order to gain insight into the growing field at the intersection of sustainability and education and network with student activists on other college campuses around the country (and world!).

A Visit to Heathcote Community9.12.11

Heathcote Community, located just over an hour away in Freeland, MD, is a thriving intentional community whose members live together, jointly invested in the preserving the land and creating space for cooperative and communal living. It is nestled in a narrow wooded stream valley on a 44 acre community land trust with an additional 68 acre plot of woods owned by some of its members. They are a community of friends and family who chose to live consciously and practice a more sustainable way of life. It is one of hundreds of intentional communities across North America and around the world, each one unique in its membership, structure, living practices, and philosophy.

At Heathcote, community members support one another financially by sharing resources to reducing the cost of living. All members eat meals together regularly in the community kitchen and participate on work crews and committees to keep the community functioning smoothly. The community is small with around 15 adult members and 6 children, but they are always eager to welcome new people into their community.

Heathcote is an active community, serving as an education site for those interested in learning about living more consciously on the earth. They frequently host events, visitor weekends and workshops on topics ranging from permaculture to yoga and meditation to political activism. To learn more about Heathcote, check out this documentary, filmed in 2004 by Gettysburg graduate Angela Greco '06.

Intentional Communities offer an alternative way of living that places human and ecological well-being at the center of a meaningful life. To learn more about intentional communities around the world, visit the International Directory of Intentional Communities online.

It's Farmhouse... for real!

Gettysburg APPLE CSA from Oylers!9.2.11

Olyer's Organic Farms in Biglerville, PA is now offering a special apple CSA to Gettysburg students, staff, and community members! Members of the CSA (Community Support Agriculture) will receive one 10 lb box of a variety of apples delivered to campus every other week from Oylers from September-November, along with recipes and samples of their delicious apple cider. To sign up, contact Sara (towesa01) by Sept. 5. CSA Membership will cost $66, cash or check. What a delicious deal!

New: FIRST-YEAR Sustainable Living Program9.1.11

The next generation has arrived!!20 students of the Class of 2015 (!) have bravely signed up to pilot Gettysburg's first ever Sustainable Living Program. These students will get the inside scoop on everything GREEN at Gettysburg, participating in clubs and helping to plan events right from the start. They are the next generation of campus sustainability leaders and they know what's up! We are thrilled to have them joining our efforts and can't wait to see where they go. Many of them have already become Eco-Dorm Reps and Student Gardeners, and will join forces with GECO, Farmhouse, Biosphere, and Painted Turtle Farm to make GREEN the new orange! Be sure to meet these fabulous new students when you get the chance!

Stephanie AdamczakMoriah AdamsJulie BlumJasmine ColahanOla Czajkowski

_Joshua GinderKatherine GuldenEliza HuntAlex IsaacsonLaura Lee

_Aden LessiakKurt MathisenRyan MatzkeJuliet PawelskiSean Pethybridge

_Maddy PriceAnn SasalaEmily SchenningJanelle ThompsonKaitlin Wingard

All together now!8.28.11

Believe it or not, the new school year is upon us! The farmhouse family has finally been reunited after a long summer apart and we are eager to kickoff year THREE! There's lots of wonderful things to look forward to, including food discussions, CSA farming, house potlucks, film showings, dinner talks, gardening, cooking, and general all around good times with friends (and, of course, food!). We hope to spread farmhouse love all around campus and get as many people as possible involved in what we do, so don't be shy, drop on by!!!

Upcoming events this Fall7.22.11

Seems a crime to be thinking about September in the middle of July, but a number of cool events and opportunities have begun cropping up that we hope to be able to participate in and take advantage of this fall. Check out the list below and start getting excited!

Summer Buzz: July Update7.12.11

Our beloved farmhouse family is quite scattered right now! From participating in community development work in Nicaragua to facilitating experiential education at Heifer International in Arkansas, we are spreading our farmhouse love far and wide! Many of us are still here in Gettysburg though - we loved living here so much that we just decided not to leave after final exams, picking up odd jobs and internships around campus and in town instead! We have people working at the Painted Turtle Farm, as a Recycling Intern for Facilities, waitressing at Blue Parrot Bistro, interning at Gettysburg Hotel, volunteering at the Gettysburg Farmer's Markets, interning with the Residence Life LGBT Program, and doing research with the Mellon Summer Scholars Program. We also welcomed a few new faces into the house for the summer: a few stray friends, couchsurfers, lovers, and other random cool people. Though the pace of life is quite different, the flavor of farmhouse has stayed quite the same! We are enjoying a bountiful vegetable garden right now with plenty of chard, kale, kohlrabi, beets, carrots and peppers to go around, and are keeping our eyes hungrily on the beans, squash and tomatoes, waiting for the first ones of the season to ripen. We have also been cooking, baking, and composting up a storm: recent kitcheneering adventures have included wheatberry salads, ribollita soup, sweet potato tacos, beet burgers, homemade granola, homemade oat milk, peach salsa, and rhu-raz-apple pie. We've also gone to work up on our CSA farm, hunted for wild mulberries in Gettysburg, and picked wild red raspberries for jamming and canning. Overall the house is happy and alive, although we are all regretably aware how quickly our lazy summer adventures will bring us right up to the fall semester before long. Until then we plan to enjoy our last few weeks of easy living, and will look forward to when our family is reunited, bright-eyed and eager to commence an epic Year III in the Farmhouse.

New Sustainability Website Launched!7.21.11

Thanks to the fastidious dedication of our two fabulous facilities recycling summer interns, Julie Ivers '12 and Mary Kate Ranii '12, Gettysburg College's sustainability website has been fully rennovated and updated! Ever wonder what kinds of green initiatives are happening on campus? Browse through the website to learn more and find out how you can get involoved!